Mortgage Purchase And Refinancing Applications Fall

Purchase applications for home mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 2 percent in the May 11 week, while the unadjusted year-on-year gain rose 1 percentage point from the prior week to 4 percent. Applications for refinancing fell 4 percent from the previous week to the lowest level since August 2008, taking the refinance share of mortgage activity down 0.4 percentage points to 35.9 percent. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate conforming mortgages ($453,100 or less) decreased by 1 basis point from the prior week to 4.77 percent.